Wa Chong’s Trade Initiative Opens Seattle to the Orient
A Chinese merchant bridges the gap between Montana and Hong Kong, pushing Seattle to become a major Pacific port.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
As a result of the efforts of Wa Chong, the Chinese merchant, a highly profitable trade with the Orient is likely to spring up here by means of the Northern Pacific steamers, which now stop here. Wa Chong has just returned from a trip East as far as New York, working up business for the line. Speaking of the matter yesterday, he said: 'The company sent me on a pass. I established two stores in Montana, one at Butte and another at Helena. These stores will carry from $5,000 to $10,000 worth of stock. We just shipped two car loads of goods to Butte from here... All the Chinamen in Montana have been getting their goods through San Francisco, but now we will try to get their trade here.' It is admitted by all to be one of the most important moves in the interest of the city that has ever been made. Deputy Collector of Customs D. A. McKenzie said: 'It is one of the most important moves ever made in the interest of this city... It will necessitate additional customs house officials after a while, and benefit the city in a thousand ways we never conceive of.'
“It is admitted by all to be one of the most important moves in the interest of the city that has ever been made.”
This story highlights the agency of Chinese merchants during a period of intense institutionalized racism in Washington. It marks a pivotal moment in Seattle’s evolution from a regional town to a trans-Pacific gateway, driven by private ambition against the backdrop of an exclusionary era.
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